Dero and Harriet Downing Scholarship Fund
Harriet Elizabeth Yarnell Downing was born on October 31, 1922, in Searcy, Arkansas. The daughter of Henry and Jenny Yarnell, Harriet grew up the child of the local Postmaster and a Justice of the Peace. After graduating high school in Searcy, Harriet originally planned to attend Hendricks College in Arkansas. Through the advice and counsel of an attorney for whom she worked and of a special music teacher, Harriet instead traveled the road to Bowling Green, Kentucky and Western Kentucky State Teachers College.
During her first few days on campus in 1941, Harriet met Dero Downing, the man with whom she would form a bond and partnership that would carry them on a journey lasting until his death in 2011, and beyond, until she joined him on March 3, 2023. The pair spent their lives traversing a path filled with family, faith, and dedication to what would become Western Kentucky University.
While Harriet shared in raising five children while maintaining a home and being involved in church and school activities, and always acting as the perfect partner and helpmate in Dero’s career, she often deflected praise of her own accomplishments and contributions to the community. Everyone who knew her, however, was blessed with the gift of her complete immersion in the person they were and where their own road had led them. Whether the grocery store clerk, the community leader, the fellow church member, the university administrator, the gas station attendant, the philanthropist, or the best friend of a grandchild, each person held a position of unique importance in her perspective on the world.
As one of the earliest members of WKU’s Faculty Wives Club, Harriet knew the value of the spouses and families of all WKU faculty and staff, and made a special point of validating and acknowledging the contribution of the families of university employees. A loyal member of State Street United Methodist Church since 1941, Harriet devoted many hours to cultivating her own faith and that of her family. Her belief that she was the most blessed person she knew gave her the strength relied on by family and friends throughout her life.
Nothing was more treasured in Harriet’s life’s journey than her family. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Richard Yarnell; and her beloved husband, Dero Downing. She is survived by her children Kathryn Downing Smith and her husband Elvin, of Elizabethtown; Dero “Dee” Downing and his wife Terri, of Bowling Green; Anne Downing Patterson and her husband Ray, of Cave City; Elizabeth Downing and her husband Mark Johnson, of Bowling Green; Alex Downing and his wife Kelly, of Bowling Green; her grandchildren Eddie and Jennifer Smith; Donald and Jennifer Smith; Georganne and Chris Stepp; Carrie and Jeff King; Alexandria Pulliam; Jake and Barbara Rorex; Megan Rorex; Elaine and Shawn Maxwell; Alex Patterson; Goodman Johnson; Kathryn and Matt Smith; Will Downing; John Downing; and her great-grandchildren Faith Stepp; Jackson Smith; Will Smith; Austin King; Jonathan Pulliam; Tiffany Hudspeth; Emma Ray, Zofia, and Eliza Maxwell; and Lincoln Patterson. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews and other family members, as well as a community of people whom she loved. A path never reaches an end as long as people continue to recognize its purpose in being traveled.
The establishment of the Dero and Harriet Downing Scholarship Fund within the College Heights Foundation was made possible by colleagues and other friends at the time Dr. Downing announced his resignation as the fourth president of Western Kentucky University. The committee, which gave leadership to the creation of the fund, requested that it also serve as a tribute to Harriet Downing as Western Kentucky University’s First Lady during her husband’s period of service from 1969 to 1979. In addition, the scholarship fund continues to honor the memory of Dr. and Mrs. Downing, and the many contributions to their family, friends, profession and community.
Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view.